Specific Goal: Exploring new photocatalytic materials for oxidation of organic matter under UV or sunlight. These materials can have environmentally important applications such as decontamination, more economical waste treatment (including toxic waste), air purification, bactericidal and self-cleaning surfaces.

The focus materials are transition metal sulfides and oxides, for example MoS2, WS2, TiO2. When irradiated by light, a photocatalyst can remove electrons from adsorbed molecules or it can inject extra electrons onto them, thus initiating further chemical reactions (see Figs. 1 and 2).

Analyze the obtained surface species under clean high-vacuum conditions.

Monitor their chemical transformations induced by visible or ultraviolet light or by temperature. Transmission IR spectroscopy is the main analytical technique for identifying surface species and monitoring their reactions. IR- and UV-compatible vacuum cell is being constructed, in which IR spectroscopy of adsorbed species can be performed simultaneously with UV irradiation.

Test the photocatalysts performance in the liquid or gas media. This is done using UV vis spectroscopy, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and in future, Gas Chromatography (GC or GC-MS combination).